PROPOSITION N STANDS FOR NIGHTMARE, A PRE-HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL OF RESISTENCE

GAY SHAME PRESENTS
PROP "N" STANDS FOR NIGHTMARE:
A PRE-HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL OF RESISTANCE

Contact: (415)540-2947 gayshamesf [at] yahoo.com
http://www.gayshamesfbay.org

Friday, October 25th, 5:30 PM, Webster and Chestnut Streets, in the spooky Marina District of San Francisco. Gay Shame announces a festival of resistance in opposition to Supervisor Gavin Newsom’s brutal Proposition N, also known as Care Not Cash. Although proponents claim Proposition N would help homeless people, it would actually slash General Assistance for homeless San Franciscans to the preposterous amount of $59 a month (less than two dollars a day). Since GA recipients are required to work 40 hours a month doing important public works' jobs like sweeping sidewalks and washing Muni busses, this reduction in funding would essentially cut their hourly wage to $1.84. This could not possibly satisfy even the most basic needs of any individual. Care Not Cash really means Scare and Bash.

Gay Shame calls on all participants to dress to absolutely terrifying, ragged, devastating excess in order to expose the hypocrisy of a policy that pretends to help homeless people, but really criminalizes poverty. We encourage people to bring out their Halloween finery to show who is the scariest in all of San Francisco-- there will be an award for the best impersonation of Gavin Newsom. We will bring a Haunted ShantyTown to the Marina District, where Newsom owns several upscale businesses and serves as Supervisor. This festival of resistance will use biting satire to hold Newsom accountable for his attempt to further displace homeless people. Gavin Newsom is the real public nuisance.

Newsom castigates homeless people for wasting their entire General Assistance checks on alcohol and drugs, while Newsom makes his living by selling alcohol at posh establishments, including Plumpjack Winery, Balboa Café, Squaw Valley Inn, and MatrixFillmore. Proposition N purports to redirect public funds from cash assistance to services, when in reality it virtually eliminates aid and provides no new services. The real agenda of Prop N is, as campaign literature states, to "remove the incentive for homeless people to congregate in San Francisco." In other words, Prop N prioritizes property values and tourism over people’s lives. The purpose of the slogan "Care Not Cash" is to distract from this hidden agenda. San Franciscans who really care will take to the streets on October 25th, in a spectacular extravaganza that will redefine and reinvigorate direct action.

GAY SHAME is a radical alternative to the gay mainstream and the increasingly complacent left. We seek nothing less than a new queer activism that addresses issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality, to counter the self-serving "values" of the gay mainstream. We are dedicated to fighting the rabid assimilationist monster of corporate gay "culture" with a devastating mobilization of queer brilliance. GAY SHAME is a celebration of resistance: all are welcome.